mp3 Albums, Part One

I think I've made it clear I'm not a big fan of mp3's, as they encourage a further degradation of sound quality from CD's (which, to start with, are higher fidelity but still really samples themselves) and vinyl. These albums I am reviewing here are as high-quality as I could find; sometimes, downloads are all you have to work with.

So I'll clear off the hard drive and go through these albums. Part one of two:

• Faunts - Faunts (2007). This is actually an mp3-only album, so this forced me into a corner; a true full mix would be interesting to hear. High Expectations, Low Results went over like a lead balloon; this one features "M4," the soundtrack to the Mass Effect videogame. This is very relaxing... and I'm not sure if that's good or not. Pet peeve: track one is "M4 (Part II)"; track three is "M4 (Part I)." Either put them back to back (which I think would work in this case) or spread them out, but put them IN ORDER please. Annoying. I also wish this had more vocals. The songs don't go anywhere, which (I think) is more of a problem with the genre than these guys.
  Verdict: listen to "M4 (Part II)"; the rest I'm on the fence on. CD Rack for now.
• Al Hotchkiss - From the Dark and Bloody Ground (2007). This was a free download. In this case, however, "free" did not mean that there was not "a cost," which would equate to "a portion of my life I will never get back."
  Verdict: Don't eat yellow snow. Pile of Death.
  
• Keith Lubrant - Searching for Signal (2007). Thanks to Pandora for this one. Lubrant kind of reminds me of the John Faye Power Trip (which I loved and Denis hated) as very pleasant pop. The album goes on forever -- and not in a good way. "Disconnected" and "Too Late" are standouts.
  Verdict: Lightly recommended. CD Rack.
  
• Really Red - New Strings for Old Puppets (1982). Believe it or not, this actually finally wraps up one of my first posts from two years ago. For melodic hardcore, this was surprisingly not great in the car, but I still heard what I needed to. I really love this. I would love to hear more stuff by them... but everything else is long out of print. "I Was a Teenage F@$#up" is not for the kids, but is a great song.
  Verdict: Recommended to download for free here. Portable CD Case for me.
  
• Sleater-Kinney - BBC Sessions (1998, 1999, 2000). This is a compilation of three BBC sessions, and surprisingly good for live recordings. It's a good set list and a great snapshot of one of my all-time favorite bands.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
• Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild soundtrack (2007). On his way out the door from Mrs. Snilch Report's place of employment, faithful reader Eric Lax (not to be confused with Eric Salt), dropped a few albums on The Snilch Report's doorstep. He may or may not know that I'm not really a Pearl Jam fan; I respect them but simply don't listen to them all that much. I did not have high expectations for Eddie, and I generally don't like soundtracks, so this was a big surprise. Think Eddie Vedder reigned in (which is a good thing) -- it's a controlled burn. It's listenable in a non-self-indulgent way, which was the opposite of what I WAS expecting. I'm honestly surprised at how good this is (did I say that already?). This will get some more spins for sure.
  Verdict: Surprisingly recommended. Portable CD Case.

- Snilch